Call to Action ceremony helps raise awareness of child trafficking in West Texas.

SAN ANGELO, Texas. According to the Greater West Texas Child Welfare Center in San Angelo, Texas is the second most common state in the nation for child sex trafficking.

Since January is “National Trafficking Prevention Month,” conversations about the subject continue to grow in the United States and abroad.

On January 26, the CAC organized a “Call to Action Ceremony” to draw attention to the dangers of “modern slavery”.

Members of local organizations such as the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Department, the San Angelo Police Department and others gathered to learn about this ever-growing problem.

“We want to help you understand the purpose of this team, what is the mission and the direction we are going,” said CAC Director of Development Justin DeLoach.

The San Angelo CAC organization was one of the first of its kind in the state of Texas and is now being used as an “evolving model” after its original founding.

During the presentation, DeLoach explained that there are currently approximately 313,000 victims of child sex trafficking in Texas.

He also said that one common factor makes this issue even more prevalent: social media.

“We feel that traffickers are getting smarter as time goes on and finding ways to round up kids,” DeLoach said after the presentation.

“And that’s where they’re going, is on social media,” he added.

The focus of the CAC is on children aged 17 and under, especially those who are active online through apps like Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, just to name a few.

Why is Texas the second most common state for child sex trafficking?

There are three main reasons for this, DeLoach said: Texas is in the middle of the country, it’s located near the Mexico-US border, and it contains two major interstates to make travel easier.

Thus, DeLoach’s goal is to raise awareness and try to prevent child trafficking in West Texas as much as possible.

While San Angelo is generally a safer community, he says this problem can happen anywhere and to anyone.

“Some [instances] we don’t even know, some of them are under investigation and some of them are happening right below us and we don’t even realize it,” DeLoach said.

CAC hopes to offer free classes for children and adults to learn more about causes, prevention, safety, etc.

Basically, DeLoach wants to create this “call to action” so that locals understand the seriousness of human trafficking in Texas and beyond.

For any questions, call 9-1-1 or call the national human trafficking hotline: 1-888-373-7888. Text messages are also available on 233733.